Ode to My Sis (Who Is in Labor as of This Moment)

This is my sister Becky. Becky is pregnant. It is a weird thing to see your kid sister pregnant. It's also weird to be very close to someone who is pregnant and to see them going through the accompanying mix of emotions. I've seen two sisters-in-law pregnant at various times and have been around for the birth of several nieces and nephews, but there's something different this time. Beck and I are only thirteen months apart and have always been very close siblings.

When I talked to her this morning - as the contractions were starting - I could hear, behind the excitement, her anxiety over the whole event. I know she'll be fine and I'm looking forward to meeting her and Ken's new child this afternoon, but as we've talked briefly over the last few days, I think I've begun to understand for the first time something of the fear and worry that is part of having a child. While I'll never know what it feels like physically or biologically (thankfully), when I talked to her, I felt that I understood things a little better.